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• Pep Guardiola says Cole Palmer is one of the players of the season

  Pep Guardiola admits Chelsea’s former Manchester City starlet Cole Palmer has been one of the players of the season.

  The City manager has also revealed the 21-year-old England midfielder had been trying to leave the Etihad Stadium for two years prior to his £42.5million switch to Stamford Bridge last summer.

  Palmer, who was considered one of City’s brightest Academy products, has been Chelsea’s most influential performer since he moved south in search of more first-team opportunities.

  Palmer has scored 25 goals this season, 11 of which have come in his last six appearances.

  He heads into Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final showdown with former club City at Wembley fresh from a four-goal salvo against Everton on Monday.

  Guardiola said: “Cole has been the decisive player, maybe of the season, in many aspects.

  “He’s an exceptional player. We knew that when he was here.

  “We know how he’s proving (himself), but he has had a lot of minutes. I said many times, I didn’t give him the minutes when maybe he deserved it. He wanted the minutes he now has at Chelsea.

  “I understand completely. I’m happy for him because he’s a lovely guy, a shy guy. He has an incredible potential, otherwise he would not have been here.

  “He’s playing good. He’s an incredible threat. He’s playing fantastically.”

  Palmer was a member of the City squad that won the treble last season and he began the current campaign strongly with goals for Guardiola’s side in the Community Shield and European Super Cup.

  Yet despite attempts to persuade the Wythenshawe-born player to stay with his hometown club, his mind to move on before the end of the summer transfer window had long been made up.

  Guardiola said: “So what can I say? The decision has been made for many reasons. He was asking for two seasons to leave.

  “I said, ‘No, stay’. At the end, (he said), ‘No, I want to leave’. What can we do? I said in pre-season, ‘Stay because Riyad (Mahrez) has gone’. He said, ‘No, I want to leave’.

  “After two seasons, what can you say? So go there. Playing at that level is exceptional. Everybody knows it.”

  City’s hopes of winning a second successive treble were dashed on Wednesday as they suffered an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

  Their focus is now on defending the domestic double, a feat no side has previously achieved, but Guardiola prefers not to view the targets in those terms.

  Guardiola said: “We were close again (to the treble) but it didn’t happen.

  “So my advice about trebles or doubles or these things is, why are we not focused on Chelsea? It’s enough of a target to think about.

  “When you have one or two games left to the end of the Premier League and you are already in the FA Cup final, I can answer you perfectly.

  “We’ve felt, two times, how strong Chelsea are. They are really, really difficult.

  “So, win that game and see what happens the next three, four, five games in the Premier League and after we will see.”

• Emma Hayes: Chelsea not overthinking semi-final against ‘world-class’ Barcelona

  Emma Hayes insists Chelsea have not overanalysed “world-class” Barcelona ahead of their Champions League clash on Saturday.

  Chelsea have travelled to Catalonia for the first leg of their semi-final 12 months on from the two clubs meeting at the same stage of the competition.

  Barcelona prevailed 2-1 on aggregate on that occasion before overcoming Wolfsburg in Eindhoven to lift the trophy for the second time in three years.

  Chelsea boss Hayes, speaking ahead ahead of this weekend’s first leg at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, said: “Barcelona have been the top team in Europe in recent years.

  “Results have suggested that, they are world champions and European champions, but this is a football match and there’s two legs.

  “Our job is to get ourselves in a position where we can come here and give them competition.

  “You have to be in it to compete for it and you know that you’re going to face a team like Barcelona at some stage, and it happens to be at the semi-finals.

  “We understand the team, we understand the opponent, and we respect them. They are world class and have unbelievable players.

  “We’ve had a game Wednesday and we’ve only had the one training session today (Friday) so we’re not overthinking or overanalysing anything.”

  Chelsea have never won the Women’s Champions League with their best performance being a final appearance in 2021 when Barcelona thrashed them 4-0.

  Arsenal are the only English club to win the trophy, a distant 17 years ago in 2007.

  “We just have to keep building on our experiences in Europe,” said Hayes. “No player needs motivation to play this game.

  “Next week we get a little more time together on the grass to work on things between the two games, based on the learnings.

  “For this game we have to keep doing the good things that we’ve been doing throughout Europe this year.”

  Chelsea have received a double boost with England pair Millie Bright and Lauren James available for selection.

  Club captain Bright has not played since November because of a knee injury, while James sat out Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League.

  Hayes said: “I always come from a tactical perspective, first and foremost, from what the needs are for that game.

  “Of course, when you play three games directly after an international break, within a seven-day period, you have to utilise the squad.

  “We certainly know that no matter the team we put out, we’re highly competitive and Wednesday demonstrated that. So many players came in and added much-needed energy.

  “It’s not just the personnel, it’s about structures.

  “When you’re playing against an opponent who’s going to have over 70 per cent of the ball, they’re going to have control of the ball and the game in that regard, how you defend spaces is important.”

  Chelsea have confirmed the departure of Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League.

  Berger, 33, made 114 appearances in five years at Chelsea and leaves the club having won four WSL titles, three FA Cups, two Conti Cups, one Community Shield and a Golden Glove.

• Man Utd appoint Jason Wilcox as new technical director after leaving Southampton

  Jason Wilcox has left Southampton to become Manchester United’s new technical director with immediate effect.

  The 53-year-old becomes a key appointment at Old Trafford as part of United’s off-field overhaul following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club.

  Wilcox joined Championship side Southampton last summer as their director of football, making the switch from Manchester City where he developed a reputation for nurturing excellent young talent as well as recruiting some of the best prospects in the game.

  A United statement read: “Jason Wilcox has joined Manchester United as technical director with immediate effect.

  “He will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance.

  “Jason was previously director of football at Southampton and before that academy director at Manchester City.

  “As a player he won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995.”

  A Saints statement read: “Southampton Football Club can today confirm that it has reluctantly agreed to allow director of football Jason Wilcox to join Manchester United, having reached an agreement with the Premier League side on an acceptable compensation fee.

  “Whilst the club is naturally disappointed that Jason’s stay at Southampton has only lasted nine months, it wishes him well for the future.”

  John Murtough stepped down as football director at Old Trafford last week.

  United are looking to add Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth to their staff as Ratcliffe continues his off-field rebuild after taking a 27.7 per cent stake in the club.

  Wilcox will report to the sporting director, who will have overall responsibility for football performance, recruitment and operations.

  The PA news agency understands Darren Fletcher will continue to play a key role in the football leadership team working across the men’s first team and academy.